Prevalence of Spotted Fever Group Rickettsia Antibody in Apodemus Speciosus Captured in an Endemic Focus in Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan

Characterization of Spotted Fever Group Rickettsiae Detected in Dogs and Ticks in Okinawa, Japan

“…These findings suggest that SFG rickettsia is distributed in Okinawa and that dogs are also an important mammalian reservoir of SFG rickettsia in addition to the usual wild rodents (7,9,26). However, the SFG rickettsia in Okinawa has not been genetically characterized.…”

Rickettsia japonica, the Etiologic Agent of Oriental Spotted Fever

“…Serosurveys for antibodies reactive with R. japonica in vertebrate hosts were reported (51,52). The prevalence was 9.7% (1 : 64-1 : 256 in IF titers) in 134 dogs from the endemic area of Shikoku in comparison with 1.6% (1 : 64-1 : 128) in a total of 189 dogs from nonendemic areas of the other main islands (51).…”

Isolation of Spotted Fever Group Rickettsia From Apodemus Speciosus in an Endemic Area in Japan

“…We reported that Apodemus speciosus seemed to be one of the important field vertebrate hosts of an SFG rickettsia from the results of comparative seroepidemiological surveys in an endemic area in Miyazaki Prefecture and in an nonendemic area in Kanagawa Prefecture (12). In this study, we successfully isolated an SFG rickettsia from Apodemus speciosus captured near the place where one of the patients had become infected.…”

“…In Japan, many people were affected in fields where Apodemus mice, especially Apodemus speciosus, are usually the dominant species of fauna (11). Recently, we reported a high incidence of antibodies to SFG rickettsiae in Apodemus mice in an endemic area (12). In this study, we attempted to isolate SFG rickettsia from Apodemus mice.…”